Electrical contacting to a semiconductor device can take place by means of a bonding partner, for example a bonding wire. The bonding partner has to be electrically connected to the surface of the semiconductor body of the semiconductor device within a predetermined permissible region.
The connection generally does not take place directly between the surface of the semiconductor body and the bonding partner but with an interposed metallization, such as for example a bonding pad.
In order to avoid defects on the semiconductor device, the bonding partner must be placed specifically in a predetermined bonding position, for example a specific location on a metallization of the semiconductor body, when the bonding connection is produced.
In particular, it is also of interest to determine the precise bonding position on a large-area metallization, in order to avoid greatly differing current densities in the region of the metallization.
Previous power semiconductor devices have usually been provided with an imide and/or nitride passivation, which has a clearance for producing the bonding connection. It has therefore been possible to use the edges of these clearances as a reference for the exact positioning of the bonding partner within the clearance.
Recently, however, such passivation layers have not been provided. This also means that there is no longer the possibility of using the edges of openings in a passivation as a reference for the positioning of a bonding partner.